In our last day of our
Stamp It! 3 Ways week-long celebration, I've got one final stamp set, card, and comment-to-win for you.
That's some
good news, right? Check it:
Supah fun, yes?
Leave me a comment by midnight EST on Sunday, January 29 and I'll draw one lucky to win the stamp set shown above as well as a copy of
Stamp It! 3 Ways to dog-ear and drool over! Now that's some seriously good news!
And though I hate to do this to you on this fine and fantastic Friday,
but I do have a bit of bad news. It's nothing too terribly heart-breaking or earth shattering, but I regret to inform you that
I am not going to be able to go to CHA.
I know. It is a bit of a shock. It will be the first show I've missed in six-and-a-half years. And I tell you what, there is no one more disappointed than I, but here's the thing:
I've been nursing a painful and quite stubborn rotator cuff injury for a while now. It happened clear back last January while shoveling all that snow off my back deck right after we had moved into our house here in the 'Shire, and only "bothered" me when I would do similar activities such as vacuuming, scrubbing pots and pans, stirring, raking, pulling weeds, etc. But early last November, when the bright rays of the sun were low enough in the sky to "highlight" my very dirty and quite literal house-long "wall of windows," I really did myself in by washing them all, inside and out, ignoring my pain (dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb.) Soon after that, I couldn't sleep at night because the pain was so bad and my shoulder throbbed even at rest.
I tried to treat it myself for a month--you know, with ice, heat, ibuprofen, and isolation--but nothing changed. So, at the end of November, I went to my doctor who diagnosed me with tendonitis due to a rotator cuff injury. I went to physical therapy twice a week for a month with relatively little change.
On January 5, I went to a specialist. He took X-rays which showed that I have a large calcium deposit which was probably already there, but when I hurt my arm and everything swelled up, the calcium began to aggravate things even further (it's like having a big pebble stuck between two sore spots.) I got a shot of cortisone right then and there, and while the pain in the back of my shoulder was vastly improved, the pain in the front of my shoulder continues to be just as bad as ever.
I haven't been able to do any housework, cooking, computer work, exercise, really anything for two months now, except for what is absolutely necessary, and even then,
I am still in a great deal of pain. And while at first this seemed like
a lovely break from routine, I'm not gonna lie, my biggest challenge every day as I rest to recover is to keep up a
good attitude. There's nothing worse than a prolonged but necessary vacation from your life, and I can't wait to get back to the healthy stresses and glorious routines that come with
living!
But when push started to come to shove earlier this week, and I was considering what the show would be like for me considering the state of my shoulder and the pain I'm in
just at rest, I realized that there's absolutely no way I can sustain the intense level of activity of a trade show sandwiched between two very lengthy plane rides. I mean, just the other night at dinner, my husband had to cut my meat for me. Some days I can't even brush my teeth. I am very disappointed that I'm not going to be able to attend, but perhaps even more importantly, I am extremely concerned about my shoulder, because the fact that I'm not progressing in physical therapy is most likely a sign that something more serious is going on than we had thought/hoped. I should know more about that in the next week or two.
In the meantime--
and this is the rest of the good news--rest assured that we will continue to bring CHA directly to you! My moxie fab colleagues at
Paper Crafts magazine have got my back completely covered. My back is so completely covered that I'm pretty sure you won't really miss me at all. ;)
For example, Creative Editor
Susan R. Opel will be posting to the
Moxie Fab World Facebook Fan Page the entire time she's there. Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Schaerer and Managing Editor
Kerri Miller will be posting to the
Paper Crafts Facebook Fan Page as well. And the
Go-to Gals who will be in attendance, including
Kim Kesti,
Teri Anderson,
Julie Campbell, and
Windy Robinson will be trend-watching and product-watching to bring you a
CHA Week to remember the week following the show.
As you can well imagine,
I am extremely disappointed that I won't be there, soaking in and being inspired by all the new products, catching up with old friends, and meeting new peeps from all over the world. But I guess life throws us curve balls sometimes, and I'm so grateful to know that I have so many trusted friends who are willing to help me out in my time of need.
So stay tuned next week on the
Moxie Fab World Facebook Fan Page to see the show in real time from Susan's eyes, and get your socks ready to be knocked off for
CHA Week beginning on February 6! And I'll be here all next week with new content for all your favorite features--
Moxie Monday,
Moxie Fabber of the Week,
Tuesday Trigger, and
Moxie Fab "Stamp" of Approval, as well as the winners of the
Map to Your Heart Challenge.
Have a great weekend, Moxie Fabbers!
~Cath
PS There's a moxie fab
Stamp It! 3 Ways blog hop going on
Paper Crafts Connection! Be there or be square!
PPS There's still time to submit a project to
this week's Tuesday Trigger. The deadline was originally yesterday, but now that I'm not going to CHA, you have until Sunday at midnight! (Hurray! More good news!)
PPS Do you have some crafty time on your hands this weekend? If so, have some fun with our
Cool Tools Week Challenges. The deadline for all five is
February 13.
Posts
